Computer cooling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A chiller for cooling an electronic device using circulating fluids to cool electronic components which comprises a thermoelectric cooler having a cool face and a warm face when connected to a power source; a heat spreader plate; and a heat exchanging surface, said thermoelectric cooler, said heat spreader plate and said heat exchanging surface all thermally coupled to dissipate heat energy from a heat input surface to said heat exchanging surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No.10/757,493, filed Jan. 15, 2004, presently pending, which is adivisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/025,846, filedDec. 26, 2001, issued Apr. 27, 2004 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,682. Thisapplication is related to a commonly-owned patent, U.S. Pat. No.6,687,142, entitled “Inverter”, issued Feb. 3, 2004 which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to the field of cooling electronic devices and, inparticular, to using circulating fluids to cool microprocessors,graphics processors, and other computer components.

Microprocessor dies typically used in personal computers are packaged inceramic packages that have a lower surface provided with a large numberof electrical contacts (e.g., pins) for connection to a socket mountedto a circuit board of a personal computer and an upper surface forthermal coupling to a heat sink. In the following description, a die andits package are referred to collectively as a microprocessor.

Elevation views of typical designs for heat sinks suggested by IntelCorporation for its Pentium® III microprocessor are shown in FIGS. 1Aand 1B.

In FIG. 1A, a passive heat sink indicated generally by reference numeral110 is shown. The passive heat sink 110 comprises a thermal plate 112from the upper surface of which a number of fins, one of which isindicated by reference numeral 114, protrude perpendicularly. Thepassive heat sink 110 is shown in FIG. 1A installed upon amicroprocessor generally indicated by reference numeral 118. Themicroprocessor 118 is comprised of a die 116 and a package 120. The die116 protrudes from the upper surface of the package 120. The lowersurface of the package 120 is plugged into a socket 122, which is inturn mounted on a circuit board (not shown). The passive heat sink 110is installed by bringing the lower surface of the thermal plate 112 intocontact with the exposed surface of the die 116. When installed andoperated as recommended by the manufacturer, ambient airflow passesbetween the fins in the direction shown by an arrow 124 in FIG. 1A.

In FIG. 1B, an active heat sink, indicated generally by referencenumeral 126, is shown. The active heat sink 126 comprises a thermalplate 128 from the upper surface of which a number of fins 130 protrudeperpendicularly. A fan 132 is mounted above the fins 130. The activeheat sink 126 is shown in FIG. 1B installed upon a microprocessor,generally indicated by reference numeral 136, which is comprised of adie 134 and a package 138. The die 134 protrudes from the upper surfaceof the package 138. The lower surface of the package 138 is plugged intoa socket 140, which is in turn mounted on a circuit board (not shown).The active heat sink 126 is installed by bringing the lower surface ofthe thermal plate 128 into contact with the exposed surface of the die134. When installed and operated as recommended by the manufacturer,ambient air is forced between the fins 130 in the direction shown by anarrow 142 in FIG. 1B.

A difficulty with the cooling provided by the heat sinks shown in FIGS.1A and 1B is that at best the temperature of the thermal plates 112, 128can only approach the ambient air temperature. If the microprocessor118, 136 is operated at a high enough frequency, the die 116, 134 canbecome so hot that it is difficult to maintain a safe operatingtemperature at the die 116, 134 using air cooling in the manner shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B.

Liquid cooling, which is inherently more efficient due to the greaterheat capacity of liquids, has been proposed for situations in which aircooling in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B is inadequate. In atypical liquid cooling system, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1C, aheat conductive block 144 having internal passages or a cavity (notshown) replaces the thermal plate 128 in FIG. 1B. The block 144 has aninlet and an outlet, one of which is visible and indicated by referencenumeral 146 in FIG. 1C. Liquid is pumped into the block 144 through theinlet and passes out of the block 144 through the outlet to a radiatoror chiller (not shown) located at some distance from the block 144. Theblock 144 is shown in FIG. 1C installed upon a microprocessor generallyindicated by reference numeral 148, which is comprised of a die 150 anda package 152. The die 150 protrudes from the upper surface of thepackage 152. The lower surface of the package 152 is plugged into asocket 154, which is in turn mounted on a circuit board (not shown). Theblock 144 is installed by bringing its lower surface into contact withthe exposed surface of the die 150.

In all liquid cooling systems known to the inventor, only a smallportion of the lower surface of the block 144 comes into contact withthe die 150. Since the die 150 protrudes above the upper surface of thepackage 152, a gap 156 remains between the upper surface of the package152 and the block 144. If the gap 156 is not filled with insulation andsealed, convective and radiative heat transfer from the package 152 tothe block 144 may occur. This will have no serious consequences so longas the block 144 is not cooled below the dew point of the air in the gap156. If the liquid pumped through block 144 is only cooled by aradiator, then that liquid and consequently the block 144, can onlyapproach the ambient air temperature. However, if a chiller is used tocool the liquid, then the temperature of the block 144 can decreasebelow the ambient air temperature, which may allow condensation to formon the package 152 or the block 144. Such condensation, if not removed,can cause electrical shorts, which may possibly destroy themicroprocessor 148.

Current solutions to the condensation problem referred to above include(1) controlling the chiller so that the temperature of the block 144does not decrease below the dew point of the air in the gap 156 or (2)providing sufficient insulation and sealing material to preventcondensation from forming or to at least prevent any condensation thatdoes form from reaching critical portions of the microprocessor 148 orsurrounding circuit elements. Placing a lower limit on the temperatureof the chiller limits the amount of heat that can effectively be removedfrom the microprocessor 148 without using bulky components. Further, theoperating temperature of the microprocessor 148 can only approach thetemperature of the block 144; operation at lower temperatures may bedesirable in many circumstances. Alternatively, if insulation andsealing is used, trained technicians must do the installation properlyif the installation is to be effective. If the insulation or seals fail,condensation can occur and cause catastrophic failure of the personalcomputer. A simpler, more reliable solution to the condensation problemis needed.

SUMMARY

In one aspect the invention there is provided a chiller for cooling anelectronic device, comprising: a thermoelectric cooler having a coolface and a warm face when connected to a power source, a heat spreaderplate; and a heat exchanging surface, said thermoelectric cooler, saidheat spreader plate and said heat exchanging surface all thermallycoupled to dissipate heat energy from a heat input surface to said heatexchanging surface.

In another aspect the invention provides a printed circuit boardcomprising: a board; a heat generating component on the board; a heatspreader plate, a first face of which is thermally coupled to the heatgenerating component; a thermoelectric cooler having a cool face and awarm face when connected to a power source, the thermoelectric coolermounted with its cool face thermally coupled to the heat spreader plate;and a liquid heat exchanger thermally coupled to the warm face of thethermoelectric cooler.

In another aspect the invention provides a laptop cooling devicecomprising: a support plate including a top surface formed to support alaptop thereon, a lower surface, and at least a portion formed to act asa heat sink in a position exposed on top surface and extending to thelower surface; a thermoelectric cooler having a cool face and a warmface when connected to a power source, the thermoelectric cooler mountedwith its cool face thermally coupled to the at least a portion formed toact as a heat sink; and a heat exchanging surface thermally coupled tothe warm face of the thermoelectric cooler.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic elevation view of a conventional passive heatsink installed on a microprocessor.

FIG. 1B is a schematic elevation view of a conventional active heat sinkinstalled on a microprocessor.

FIG. 1C is a schematic elevation view of a conventional liquid-cooledheat sink installed on a microprocessor.

FIG. 2A is a schematic pictorial view of a partially assembled desktoppersonal computer with an embodiment of the cooling apparatus describedherein installed. Many of the conventional components of the desktoppersonal computer that are not relevant to the cooling apparatus areomitted.

FIG. 2B is a schematic pictorial view of a partially assembledtower-case personal computer with an embodiment of the cooling apparatusdescribed herein installed. Many of the conventional components of thedesktop personal computer that are not relevant to the cooling apparatusare omitted.

FIG. 3A is a schematic elevation view of a portion of the desktoppersonal computer of FIG. 2A showing a fluid heat exchanger inaccordance with the present invention coupled to the CPU microprocessorof the computer.

FIG. 3B is a schematic elevation view of a portion of the tower-casepersonal computer of FIG. 2B showing a fluid heat exchanger inaccordance with the present invention coupled to the CPU microprocessorof the computer.

FIGS. 3C-3F are schematic elevation views of a series of variant fluidheat exchangers.

FIG. 3G is a schematic elevation view of a variant fluid heat exchangerhaving an external cooling conduit.

FIG. 3H is a schematic cross-sectional view of the fluid heat exchangershown in FIG. 3G taken along line 3H-3H of FIG. 3G.

FIG. 4A is a schematic exploded isometric view of the fluid heatexchanger shown in FIG. 3A.

FIGS. 4B, 4C, and 4D are schematic cross-sectional views of the fluidheat exchanger of FIG. 4A taken along lines 4B-4B, 4C-4C, and 4D-4D ofFIG. 4A, respectively.

FIG. 4E is a schematic pictorial view of the fluid heat exchanger ofFIG. 3A showing the internal fluid flow pattern.

FIG. 5A is a schematic partially exploded isometric view of the fluidheat exchanger of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-section of the fluid heat exchanger of FIG.5A taken along line 5B-5B of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is a schematic isometric view of a molded or cast one-piecefluid heat exchanger in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a schematic elevation view of the fluid heat exchanger ofFIG. 6A.

FIG. 6C is a schematic cross-sectional view of the fluid heat exchangerof FIG. 6A taken along line 6C-6C of FIG. 6B.

FIGS. 6D, 6E, 6F, 6G, 6H, 6I, 6J, and 6K are schematic cross-sections ofthe fluid heat exchanger of FIG. 6A taken along lines 6D-6D, 6E-6E,6F-6F, 6G-6G, 6H-6H, 6I-6I, 6J-6J, and 6K-6K of FIG. 6C, respectively.The barbs and protrusion are not shown.

FIG. 7A is a schematic elevation view of the pump/tank module of thecooling apparatus of FIG. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 7B is a schematic side elevation view of a molded pump/tank modulethat could be included in the cooling apparatus of FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 7C is a schematic end elevation view of the pump/tank module ofFIG. 7B.

FIG. 7D is a schematic internal side elevation view of the pump/tankmodule of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 8 is a schematic end elevation view of a copper-finned chillermodule in accordance with the invention, with the fan removed. The viewis taken in the direction of airflow when chiller module is inoperation.

FIG. 9 is a schematic longitudinal section of the chiller module of FIG.8 taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a schematic end elevation view of an aluminum-finned chillermodule having four extruded fin sections, in accordance with theinvention. The view is taken with the fan removed and in the directionof airflow when chiller module is in operation.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-section of the chiller module of FIG. 10taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a side elevation view of the chiller module of FIG. 10 withthe housing removed.

FIG. 13 is a cross-section of one of the four extruded fin sections ofthe chiller module of FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is a schematic end elevation view of an aluminum-finned chillermodule having two extruded fin sections, in accordance with theinvention. The view is taken with the fan removed and in the directionof airflow when chiller module is in operation.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-section of the chiller module of FIG. 14taken along line 15-15 of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a cross-section of one of the two extruded fin sections ofthe chiller module of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16A is a schematic side elevation view of a useful chiller module.

FIG. 16B is an isometric view of a printed circuit board including achiller.

FIG. 16C is an exploded isometric view of the printed circuit board ofFIG. 16B.

FIG. 16D is a sectional view along lines 16D-16D of FIG. 16B.

FIG. 16E is an isometric view of the underside of a laptop cooleraccording to the present invention.

FIG. 16F is a sectional view along lines 16F-16F of FIG. 16E.

FIG. 17 is a partially exploded isometric view of a bored fluid heatexchanger for use in the chiller modules of FIGS. 8, 10, and 14.

FIG. 18A is a schematic isometric view of a molded or cast fluidone-piece heat exchanger for use in the chiller modules of FIGS. 8, 10,and 14.

FIG. 18B is a schematic elevation view of the fluid heat exchanger ofFIG. 18A.

FIG. 18C is a schematic cross-sectional view of the fluid heat exchangerof FIG. 18A taken along line 18C-18C of FIG. 18B.

FIGS. 18D, 18E, 18F, 18G, 18H, 18I, and 18J are schematic cross-sectionsof the fluid heat exchanger of FIG. 18A taken along lines 18D-18D,18E-18E, 18F-18F, 18G-18G, 18H-18H, 181-18I, and 18J-18J of FIG. 18C,respectively. The barbs are not shown.

FIG. 19A is a schematic plan view of a molded retainer for retaining afluid heat exchanger coupled to a CPU microprocessor in accordance withthe invention.

FIG. 19B is a schematic front elevation view of the retainer of FIG.19A.

FIG. 19C is a schematic side elevation view of the retainer of FIG. 19A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Two embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B asthey would appear when installed in two typical forms of desktoppersonal computer (“PC”), the PCs generally indicated by referencenumerals 210 and 250, respectively. In FIG. 2A, the PC 210 is adesktop-type PC, while in FIG. 2B, the PC 250 is a tower-type PC. InFIGS. 2A and 2B, the PC 210, 250 is shown with its case cover and powersupply removed so that a cooling apparatus that is an embodiment of thepresent invention can be seen. Each PC 210, 250 has a motherboard 212,252 together with a CPU microprocessor 214, 254 mounted in a socket 216,256 as shown schematically in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In each case, the socket216, 256 is mounted on the motherboard 212, 252. Other conventionalcomponents are omitted.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, each cooling apparatus is comprisedof three modules: a heat exchanger 218, 258 mounted in contact with theCPU microprocessor 214, 254; a chiller module 220, 260; and a pumpmodule 222, 262. Each heat exchanger 218, 258 is mounted so as to bethermally coupled to a CPU microprocessor 214, 254 and replaces aconventional heat sink such as those shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Thedetails of the manner in which the heat exchangers 218, 258 are mountedare described below. The chiller module 220, 260 and the pump module222, 262 are mounted to the case of the PC 210, 250 and connectedtogether by a first section of tubing 224, 264. The chiller module 220,260 is connected to the heat exchanger 218, 258 by a second section oftubing 226, 266. The heat exchanger 218, 258 is connected to the pumpmodule 222, 262 by a third section of tubing 228, 268. In operation,fluid is pumped from the pump module 222, 262 through the chiller module220, 260, then through the heat exchanger 218, 258, and finally returnsto the pump module 222, 262. When the cooling apparatus is operating,chilled fluid passes through the heat exchanger 218, 258 so as toextract heat produced by the microprocessor 214, 254.

FIGS. 3A and 3B provide more detailed views of the heat exchangers 218,258 as mounted on the microprocessors 214, 254 in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Theupright heat exchanger 218 of FIG. 2A differs in several details fromthe horizontal heat exchanger 258 of FIG. 2B. Hence, each is describedseparately.

In FIG. 3A, the microprocessor 214 can be seen to be of the conventionalflip-chip type comprising a die 310 mounted in a mounting package 312.The die 310 extends above the surrounding surface 313 of the mountingpackage 312 and provides a non-active surface 311 that is generallyparallel to the surrounding surface 313. In this type of mounting, nothermal plate is provided as part of the microprocessor 214, it beingintended that a heat sink will be installed directly in contact with thenon-active surface 311. “Non-active surface” as used herein refers tothe face of a die that does not have electrical contacts and that isnormally exposed to cooling air flow or placed in contact with a heatsink or other means from removing heat from the die 310.

As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the upright heat exchanger 218 is comprisedof a cuboid body 314 of a heat-conducting material such as copper,aluminum, or plastic that has a cuboid protrusion 316 extending from itsbottom face 318. Optionally, the bottom face of the protrusion 316 maybe a thin silver cap 319. As will be discussed in relation to FIGS.4A-4E, the body 314 contains internal passages and chambers (not shownin FIG. 3A) through which a fluid may be circulated. The protrusion 316ends in a face 320 (sometimes referred to as a surface herein), whichshould preferably be dimensionally substantially congruent with thenon-active surface 311 of the die 310. Some of the advantages of theinvention are reduced if the face 320 is not substantially congruentwith the non-active surface 311. If the face 320 does not contact theentire non-active surface 311, then the rate at which heat can betransferred is reduced, although if for some reason the die is notuniformly hot, this may be desirable or at least tolerable. On the otherhand, if the face 320 is larger than the non-active surface 311, thedisadvantages of conventional liquid heat exchangers such as that shownin FIG. 1C begin to appear as the difference in size increases. Anempirical approach should be used to applying the present invention to aparticular microprocessor installation.

While the body 314 and the protrusion 316 are shown as cuboid in thedrawings, they may be any convenient shape so long as the body 314,through which fluid is circulated, is separated from the microprocessor214 by a sufficient distance and a face 320 is provided that isapproximately dimensionally congruent with and conforms to thenon-active surface 311 of the die 310. Further, in some circumstancesthe protrusion 316 may be eliminated or reduced to the silver cap 319.For example, in FIGS. 3C-3F a sample of some possible body shapes areshown. In those drawings, reference numerals correspond to those in FIG.3A where there are corresponding elements. For example, in FIG. 3C, aspherical body 380 having no protrusion is shown; the face 320 is simplya flattened portion of the surface of the body 380. In FIG. 3D, aninverted truncated pyramidal body 382 is shown; the face 320 is providedby an optional silver cap 319 that is in effect a small protrusion. InFIG. 3E, a columnar body 384 is shown and in FIG. 3F, a truncatedpyramidal body 386 is shown. In each case, appropriate internal passages(not shown) must be provided to circulate cooling fluid; a fluid inletfitting 328 and a fluid outlet fitting 330 are shown in each drawing.Further, in FIG. 3A, the protrusion 316 could be cylindrical rather thanrectangular in cross-section preferably ending in a face 320 that isapproximately dimensionally congruent with and conforms to thenon-active surface of the die 310.

One goal in designing the upright heat exchanger 218 is to provide meansto conduct heat away from the die 310 and then transfer that heat to afluid circulating through the body 314 of the upright heat exchanger218. If a protrusion 316 is provided, it should preferably have across-sectional area that does not increase rapidly with distance fromthe die 310 and should be designed to transfer heat as efficiently aspossible to the body 314, rather than to dissipate heat itself. Ideallythe temperature should drop as little as possible from the non-activesurface 311 to the body 314 so as to minimize the possibility ofcondensation forming on the protrusion 316 if the fluid circulatingthrough the body 314 is chilled below the dew point of the ambient air.In other words, a heat-conducting path must be provided from theprotrusion 316 to the circulating fluid. This path may be provided bythe material out of which the upright heat exchanger 218 is formed, orby a heat pipe integrated into the upright heat exchanger 218, or by athermoelectric heat pump placed between the die 310 and the body 314,possibly as a protrusion 316 from the body 314.

Preferably, the protrusion 316 should extend far enough from themicroprocessor 214 so that the lower surface 318 of the body 314 issufficiently distant from the surface 313 of the microprocessor 214 suchthat sufficient ambient air may circulate in the gap between them so asto substantially prevent condensation from forming on the surface 313 ofthe microprocessor 214 and from forming on and dripping from the body314 when fluid is cooled below the dew point of the ambient air andcirculated through the body 314. Just how far the fluid should be cooleddepends upon how much heat needs to be conducted away from the die 310.The further the fluid is cooled, the more heat can be conducted awayusing the same sizes for components such as the pump module 222, 262 andthe heat exchanger 218, 258. There is therefore an economic advantage inusing colder fluid, but at some point the gap between the surface of thebody 314 and the surface of the microprocessor 214 will no longer allowsufficient air circulation. Hence the distance that the protrusion 316extends from the body 314 must be determined empirically based upon theamount of heat needed to be conducted away and the sizes of thecomponents. As noted above, a discrete protrusion may not be needed ifthe body 314 has a shape that provides a sufficient gap between the body314 and the surface of the microprocessor 214. Several examples of thisare shown in FIGS. 3C-3G.

The inventor has found that even a small distance between the lowersurface 318 of the body 314 and the surface 313 of the microprocessor214 will allow the fluid to be cooled further than is possible usingconventional heat exchangers without sealing and insulation. Forexample, a distance of approximately 6 mm has been found to besufficient to allow for cooling current CPU microprocessors usingcirculating fluid cooled to below the dew point of the ambient air.

It is critical that (1) condensation not be allowed to form on themicroprocessor 214 or other components and, (2) if condensation doesform on the upright heat exchanger 218, then it does not drip orotherwise run onto the microprocessor 214 or other components. Ingeneral, heat transfer from the socket 216, the motherboard 212, or themicroprocessor 214 to the body 314 should not be allowed to lower thetemperature of any portion of the socket 216, the motherboard 212, orthe microprocessor 214 so as to allow condensation to form on them. Oneway to accomplish this is to keep the gap between the body 314 and themicroprocessor 214 sufficiently large that convection cells will notestablish themselves in that gap under normal operating conditions so asto cause convective heat transfer. Further, the body 314 should besufficiently exposed to ambient air flow that if condensation does formon the body 314, it will evaporate without dripping onto themicroprocessor 214 or other components.

The upright heat exchanger 218 is held in place so that the face 320 ofthe protrusion 316 is thermally coupled to the die 310 by a clampingarrangement formed from a plastic bar 322, two stainless steel springclips 324, and a bolt 326. The spring clips 324 hook under oppositesides of the socket 216 and extend upward to attach to opposite ends ofthe plastic bar 322. The plastic bar 322 is provided with an openingaligned with the center of the die 310 that is threaded to accept thebolt 326. The upright heat exchanger 218 is installed by placing theface 320 of the protrusion 316, preferably coated with thermal grease,against the non-active surface of the die 310 and then tightening thebolt 326 until the bolt 326 contacts the upright heat exchanger 218. Theuse of a plastic bar 322 minimizes the possibility that excessivepressure will be applied to the die 310 by tightening the bolt 326,because the plastic bar 322 will break if too much pressure is applied.

As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the upright heat exchanger 218 is alsoprovided with a fluid inlet fitting 328 and a fluid outlet fitting 330.When installed in the PC 210 shown in FIG. 2A, the tubing indicated byreference numeral 226 is connected to the fluid inlet fitting 328 andthe tubing indicated by reference numeral 228 is connected to the fluidoutlet fitting 330.

Also illustrated in FIG. 3A is a screw-in plug 332 and a nylon washer334. The top of the body 314 is provided with a threaded filler opening(not shown in FIG. 3A), which is threaded to accept the screw-in plug332. The purpose of the threaded filler opening is discussed below, butwhen assembled, the nylon washer 334 is placed over the opening and thescrew-in plug 332 screwed into the opening to cause the nylon washer 334to seal the opening. The head of the screw-in plug 332 is indented so asto accept the end of the bolt 326 and align the upright heat exchanger218 while the bolt 326 is being tightened.

In FIG. 3B, the microprocessor 254 can be seen to be of the conventionalflip-chip type having a die 350 mounted in a mounting package 352. Thedie 350 extends above the surrounding surface 353 of the mountingpackage 352 and provides a non-active surface 351 that is generallyparallel to the surrounding surface 353. In this type of mounting, nothermal plate is provided as part of the microprocessor 254, it beingintended that a heat sink will be installed directly in contact with thenon-active surface 351.

As illustrated in FIG. 3B, the horizontal heat exchanger 258 iscomprised of a cuboid body 354 of copper that has a cuboid protrusion356 extending from a face 358 adjacent and parallel to the non-activesurface 351 of the die 350. As will be discussed in relation to FIGS. 5Aand 5B, the body 354 contains internal passages and chambers throughwhich a fluid may be circulated. The protrusion 356 ends in a face 360(sometimes referred to as a surface herein), which should preferably bedimensionally substantially congruent with and conform to the non-activesurface 351 of the die 350. Some of the advantages of the invention arereduced if the face 360 is not substantially congruent with the surfaceof the die 350. If the face 360 does not contact the entire surface ofthe die 350, then the rate at which heat can be transferred is reduced,although if for some reason the die 350 is not uniformly hot, this maybe desirable or at least tolerable. On the other hand, if the face 360is larger than the surface of the die 350, the disadvantages of currentliquid heat exchangers such as that shown in FIG. 1C begin to appear asthe difference in size increases. An empirical approach should be usedto applying the present invention to a particular microprocessorinstallation.

The discussion above regarding variant body shapes and design goals forthe upright heat exchanger 218 applies as well to the horizontal heatexchanger 258.

The horizontal heat exchanger 258 is held in place so that the face 360of the protrusion 356 is thermally coupled to the die 350 by a clampingarrangement formed from a plastic bar 362, two stainless steel springclips 364, and a bolt 366. The spring clips 364 hook under oppositesides of the socket 256 and extend outward to attach to opposite ends ofthe plastic bar 362. The plastic bar 362 is provided with an openingaligned with the center of the die 350 and threaded to accept the bolt366. The horizontal heat exchanger 258 is installed by placing the face360 of the protrusion 356, preferably coated with thermal grease,against the non-active surface of the die 350 and then tightening thebolt 366 until the bolt 366 contacts the horizontal heat exchanger 258.The face of the body 354 may be indented so as to accept the end of thebolt 366 and align the horizontal heat exchanger 258 while the bolt 366is being tightened. The use of plastic minimizes the possibility thatexcessive pressure will be applied to the die 350 by tightening the bolt366, as the plastic bar 362 will break if too much pressure is applied.

The horizontal heat exchanger 258 is also provided with a fluid outletfitting 370 and a fluid inlet fitting 368, which is not visible in FIG.3B as it is behind fluid outlet fitting 370 in the view provided in FIG.3B (see FIG. 5A). When the horizontal heat exchanger 258 is installed ina PC 250, the tubing indicated by reference numeral 266 is connected tothe fluid inlet fitting 368 and the tubing indicated by referencenumeral 228 is connected to fluid outlet fitting 370.

An alternative heat exchanger is shown in FIGS. 3G and 3H and indicatedgenerally by reference numeral 390. The heat exchanger 390 has acolumnar body 392 similar in shape to the columnar body 384 shown inFIG. 3E, but with cooling provided by an exterior winding of tubing 394rather than an internal passage for circulating cooling fluid. Theexterior winding of tubing 394 has an inlet 396 and an outlet 398corresponding to the fluid inlet fitting 328 and the fluid outlet 330fitting of the upright heat exchanger 218 of FIG. 3A, respectively. Thesame design criteria apply to the combination of the body 392 and theexterior winding of tubing 394 shown in FIGS. 3G and 3H as apply to thebody 314 and the protrusion 316 shown in FIG. 3A. Specifically, if thatcombination 392/394 were used in place of the upright heat exchanger 218of FIGS. 2A and 3A, the exterior winding of tubing 394 should preferablybe located so as to reduce heat transfer from the socket 216, themotherboard 212, or the microprocessor 214 to the exterior winding oftubing 394 so that the temperature of any portion of the socket 216,motherboard 212, or the microprocessor 214 would not drop to the pointat which condensation would form on them. Further, the exterior windingof tubing 394 should be sufficiently exposed to ambient air flow that ifcondensation does form on the tubing 394, the condensation willevaporate without dripping onto the microprocessor 214 or othercomponents. Design dimensions are best determined empirically.

The body 392 may be either solid, preferably copper, or may beconstructed as a heat pipe as shown in FIG. 3H. If so, the body 392 maybe bored axially through from its bottom 381 to close to its top surface383 forming a bored out chamber 385. A silver cap 387 may be joined tothe bottom 381 as shown in FIG. 3G. A filler opening 389 passes from thechamber through the top surface 383. The filler opening 389 is threadedto receive a screw-in plug 391. The body 392 may be used as a heat pipeif the chamber 385 is evacuated, partially filled with a mixture ofapproximately 50% acetone, 35% isopropyl alcohol, and 15% water, and thescrew-in plug 391, fitted with a nylon washer 393, is tightened tocompress the nylon washer 393, thereby sealing the chamber 385. Itshould be noted that the heat pipe configuration illustrated in FIGS. 3Gand 3H is optional; a solid body 392 may also be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the upright heat exchanger 218 is formed fromthree sections, a central section 410 from which protrudes a protrudingportion 412 which together with the silver cap 319 form the protrusion316 of FIG. 3A, an inlet side section 414, and an outlet side section416. The three sections are bored through in the pattern shown in FIG.4A and FIGS. 4B, 4C, and 4D. An inlet end cap 418 covers the inlet sidesection 414 and an outlet end cap 420 covers the outlet side section416. When in operation, fluid entering the inlet side section 414through the fluid inlet fitting 328 flows in a generally spiral pattern610 as shown in FIG. 4E and leaves the upright heat exchanger 218through the fluid outlet fitting 330.

As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the central section 410 has an axial bore orchamber 510 that extends from the face 511 of the protruding portion 412through the central section 410 nearly to the top surface 513 of thecentral section 410. A threaded filler opening 422 passes from thechamber 510 through the top surface of the central section 410. Thethreaded filler opening 422 is threaded to receive the screw-in plug332. When the silver cap 319 is joined to the lower face 511 of theprotruding portion 412 and the screw-in plug 332 tightened to compressthe nylon washer 334, the chamber 510 is sealed and may be used as aheat pipe if evacuated and partially filled with a mixture ofapproximately 50% acetone, 35% isopropyl alcohol, and 15% water.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B illustrate the structure of the horizontal heatexchanger 258 in more detail. The horizontal heat exchanger 258 does notinclude a heat pipe such as that provided by the chamber 510 in theupright heat exchanger 218, nor does it include a silver cap 319. Itcomprises a central block 450 bored through by nine parallel bores thatare laterally connected in the manner shown in FIG. 5B to form a passagefrom the fluid inlet fitting 368 to the fluid outlet fitting 370. Endcaps 452, 454 cover the faces of the central block 450 through which thecentral block 450 is bored. The end cap indicated by reference numeral454 covers the face of the central block 450 closest to the die 350. Aprotrusion 356 is attached to the outer face of end cap 454. The end capindicated by reference numeral 452 covers the other face of the centralblock 450 and may have a small indentation on its outer face to assistin aligning horizontal heat exchanger 258 during installation.

While the upright heat exchanger 218 and the horizontal heat exchanger258 have been shown in the drawings and described as intended forinstallation in an upright and a horizontal orientation, respectively,those skilled in the art will understand that the horizontal heatexchanger 258 could be installed in an upright orientation and theupright heat exchanger 218 could be installed in a horizontalorientation. However, in the case of the upright heat exchanger 218,suitable wicking (not shown) would then have to be provided in the heatpipe chamber 510, as gravity would not cause condensed liquid to flowback toward the protrusion 412. The heat pipe chamber 510 and moreelaborate construction of the upright heat exchanger 218 may not bewarranted in all cases. Hence the designer may wish to use thehorizontal heat exchanger 258 wherever a simple, less expensive heatexchanger is desired, in both horizontal and upright orientations.

In both the upright heat exchanger 218 and the horizontal heat exchanger258, a passage provided for the circulation of a fluid is comprised of aseries of cylindrical chambers connected by constrictions. For example,in FIG. 5B fluid entering the horizontal heat exchanger 258 throughfluid inlet fitting 368 passes through nine chambers 451, 453, 456, 458,460, 462, 464, 466, 468 before leaving through fluid outlet fitting 370.Each pair of successive chambers is connected by a constriction. Theconstrictions in FIG. 5B are indicated by reference numerals 470, 472,474, 476, 478, 480, 482, and 484. For example, in FIG. 5B constriction470 connects the first pair of chambers 451, 453. The chambers 451, 453,456, 458, 460, 462, 464, 466, 468 pass completely through section 450and may be formed by boring through solid copper blocks, althoughcasting or other methods may be used depending upon the material used.The constrictions also pass completely through the section 450, so thateach of the chambers connected by the constriction has an opening in itsinterior wall passing into the constriction having a boundary defined bytwo lines along the interior wall of the chamber that run parallel tothe axis of the chamber that are connected by segments of the edges ofthe circular ends of the chamber. The area of the opening shouldpreferably by approximately equal to the cross-section area of the fluidinlet fitting 368 and the fluid outlet fitting 370.

While the chambers 451, 453, 456, 458, 460, 462, 464, 466, 468 shown inFIG. 5B and the chambers shown in FIGS. 4B and 4D are drawn so that theaxes of successive pairs of chambers are spaced apart by a distance thatis somewhat greater than the diameter of one chamber, it is also withinthe scope of the invention to space the axes of successive chamberscloser to each other or farther apart. For example, in FIGS. 4A and 5A,the axes of successive chambers are close enough to each other that theconstrictions between successive chambers are formed by the overlappingof the chambers. One method for forming such chambers and constrictionsis to bore a block of material so that the center of each bore is closerto the next successive bore than the diameter of the bore.

The inventor has found that the one-piece fluid heater exchangerindicated generally by reference numeral 610 in FIGS. 6A-6C is lesscostly to manufacture than the fluid heat exchangers 218, 258 shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B and described above and may be used in place of fluidheat exchangers 218, 258 in many applications. However, the same designprinciples apply. The heat exchanger 610 shown in FIGS. 6A-6C is diecast in one piece from an aluminum alloy such as 1106 alloy or 6101alloy using processes that are known to those skilled in the art. Thatprocess is not within the scope of the invention, although thearrangement and shapes of the internal passages are within the scope ofthe invention. The heat exchanger 610 shown in FIGS. 6A-6C might also beformed by molding heat-conducting plastic material.

The heat exchanger 610 shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C comprises a cuboidbody 612, a protrusion 614, an inlet barb 616, and an outlet barb 618,all of which are die cast as a unitary structure. The protrusion 614provided complies with the design guidelines discussed above, extendingfrom the lower face 617 of the body 612 and having a face or surface 619for coupling thermally to the non-active surface of a die. Theperpendicular distance between the plane of the surface 619 and thelower face 617 is approximately 6.25 mm. The four sidewalls of theprotrusion 614, the face of one of which is indicated by referencenumeral 621, are concave with a radius of curvature of approximately6.25 mm, resulting in the sidewalls 621 being perpendicular to the planeof the surface 619 at their line of contact with it. The inventor hasfound that for currently available microprocessors, this perpendiculardistance and sidewall design works. However, an empirical approach isrecommended if the circulating fluid is chilled to lower temperatures.For example, steeper sidewalls, greater perpendicular distance, or both,may be needed.

As illustrated in FIG. 6C, inside the body 612 a passage 620 throughwhich chilled fluid may be circulated is provided. The passage 620connects the opening in the inlet barb 616 to the opening in the outletbarb 618. The passage 620 comprises a series of nine generally sphericalchambers connected by eight cylindrical constrictions. FIGS. 6D-6Kprovide a set of cross-sections showing the shapes and relativediameters of the spherical chambers and cylindrical constrictions. Thetransitions between the spherical chambers and constrictions are smooth.Because the body 612 and the protrusion 614 are formed as a unitarystructure from heat-conducting material, a heat-conducting path isprovided from the surface 619 to the material of the body 612 adjacentthe passage 620 so that heat may flow from the die to fluid circulatedthrough the passage 620.

A pump module 222, 262 that may be constructed from commerciallyavailable components is shown in detail in FIG. 7A. The pump module 222,262 generally comprises a conventional submersible 12-volt AC pump 710installed inside a conventional tank 712. The tank 712 has a screw-onlid 714, an inlet fitting 716, an outlet fitting 718, and a compressionfitting 720. The outlet 722 of the pump 712 is connected to the outletfitting 718 by tubing 724. The inlet 726 of the pump 712 is open to theinterior of the tank 712 as is the inlet fitting 716. The power cord 721of the pump 710 is lead through the compression fitting 720 to asuitable power supply outside the case of the PC 210, 250, oralternatively an inverter (not shown) may be provided inside the case ofthe PC 210, 250 to provide 12 volt AC from the DC power supply of the PC210, 250. The tank 712 may be initially filled with fluid by removingthe screw-on lid 714. The preferred fluid is 50% propylene glycol and50% water. The tank 712 should be grounded to reduce the risk of astatic electrical charge building up and causing sparking. Preferablythis should be accomplished by the use of a tank 712 composed ofmetalized plastic, although a metal plate connected to the case of thePC 210, 250 may be used.

In FIGS. 7B, 7C, and 7D, a variant pump module indicated generally byreference numeral 750 is shown that includes a pump having acenter-tapped motor winding and an inverter. The inverter is disclosedin a copending, commonly-owned application entitled “Inverter” havingapplication Ser. No. 10/016,678, which is incorporated herein byreference. It generally comprises a submersible 20-volt AC pump 752installed inside a tank 754. The tank 754 has a lid 756, an inletfitting 757, and an outlet fitting 759. The outlet 758 of the pump 752is connected to the outlet fitting 759 by heater pipe 760. The inlet 762of the pump 752 is open to the interior of the tank 750 as is the inletfitting 757. A power cord from the DC power supply of the PC 210, 250may be lead through an access opening 764 to connect to an inverter 766.The tank 754 may be initially filled with fluid by removing the lid 756.The preferred fluid is 50% propylene glycol and 50% water. The tank 754should be grounded to reduce the risk of a static electrical chargebuilding up and causing sparking. Preferably this should be accomplishedby the use of a tank 754 composed of metalized plastic.

Two basic designs for the chiller module 220, 260 are shown in thedrawings. FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a copper-finned chiller 810, whileFIGS. 10-13 illustrate a cylindrical aluminum-finned chiller 1010. FIGS.14-16 illustrate a variant of the cylindrical aluminum-finned chiller1010. Both chiller designs include a chiller heat exchanger 814 shown inFIG. 17 or may use the chiller heat exchanger 1810 shown in FIGS.18A-18J in place of the chiller heat exchanger 814 shown in FIG. 17.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the copper-finned chiller 810 generallycomprises a housing 812 for mounting in alignment with an opening 912 ina wall 910 of the case of the PC 210, 250, a conventional 12 volt DC fan914, a chiller heat exchanger 814 having a chiller inlet fitting 816 anda chiller outlet fitting 818, two conventional thermoelectric heat pumps820, 822, which are connected to the power supply of the PC 210, 250(connection not shown), two copper base plates 824, 826, and a pluralityof fins 828. An arrow 916 in FIG. 9 shows the direction of airflow. Wheninstalled in the case of the PC 210, 250, the chiller inlet fitting 816is connected to the tubing indicated by reference numerals 224, 264 andthe chiller outlet fitting 818 is connected to the tubing indicated byreference numerals 226, 266.

The chiller heat exchanger 814, essentially a block through which achilled fluid may be circulated, is discussed in the detail below inreference to FIG. 17. In the copper-finned chiller 810, the chiller heatexchanger 814 is sandwiched between the cold sides of the twothermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822 so that a large proportion of thesurface area of the chiller heat exchanger 814 is thermally coupled tothe cold sides of the thermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822. The assemblyof the chiller heat exchanger 814 and the thermoelectric heat pumps 820,822 is in turn sandwiched between the two copper base plates 824, 826 sothat the hot sides of the thermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822 arethermally coupled to the copper base plates 824, 826, respectively. Thesides of the copper base plates 824, 826 that are not thermally coupledto the hot sides of the thermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822 are joined bysoldering or brazing to a plurality of parallel spaced apart fins 828that are generally perpendicular to the sides of the copper base plates824, 826.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, a buffer zone 918 is provided between the fan914 and the finned assembly, indicated generally by reference numeral920, that includes the chiller heat exchanger 814, the thermoelectricheat pumps 820, 822, the base plates 824, 826, and the fins 828. Thepurpose of the buffer zone 918 is to allow air flow from the circularoutlet of the fan 914 to reach the corners of the finned assembly 920,which has a square cross-section as shown in FIG. 8,.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of parallel spaced apartfins 830 may be joined to a portion of the side of a copper base plate824 that is thermally coupled to the hot side of the thermoelectric heatpump 820, but that is not in contact with the hot side of thethermoelectric heat pump 820. Also optionally, a plurality of parallelspaced apart fins 832 may be joined to a portion of the side of thecopper base plate 826 that is thermally coupled to the hot side of thethermoelectric heat pump 822, but that is not in contact with the hotside of the thermoelectric heat pump 822. If the fins 830 and 832 areomitted, then the space that they would otherwise occupy should beblocked so as to force airflow to pass between the fins 828.

In operation, the copper-finned chiller 810 chills fluid that has pickedup heat from the microprocessor 214, 254 and is pumped through thechiller heat exchanger 814. The cold sides of the two thermoelectricheat pumps 820, 822 absorb heat from the chiller heat exchanger 814 andpump it to their respective hot sides. The copper base plates 824, 826in turn transfer that heat to the fins 828, 830, 832. Air, forcedbetween the fins 828, 830, 832 by the fan 914 picks up heat from thefins 828, 830, 832 and carries that heat out of the case of the PC 210,250.

The cylindrical aluminum-finned chiller 1010 shown in FIGS. 10, 11, and12 may be used in place of the copper-finned chiller 810. The basicdifference between the two designs is in the use of four aluminumextrusions 1012, 1014, 1016, 1018 to replace the fins 828, 830, 832 ofthe copper-finned chiller 810. The chiller heat exchanger 814 and thetwo thermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822 used in the copper-finned chiller810 may be used in the cylindrical aluminum-finned chiller 1010 and areindicated by the same reference numerals. Two copper heat spreaderplates 1020, 1022 correspond generally to the copper base plates 824,826 of the copper-finned chiller 810.

As shown in FIGS. 10-13, the aluminum-finned chiller 1010 generallycomprises a cylindrical housing 1030 that may be attached to a wall 1110of the case of the PC 210, 250 in alignment with an opening 1112 in thewall 1110, a conventional 12 volt DC fan 1114, the chiller heatexchanger 814 having a chiller inlet fitting 816 (visible only in FIG.10) and a chiller outlet fitting 818, the two thermoelectric heat pumps820, 822, which are connected to the power supply of the PC 210, 250(connection not shown), two copper heat spreader plates 1020, 1022, andthe four aluminum extrusions 1012, 1014, 1016, 1018. An arrow 1116 inFIG. 11 shows the direction of airflow. When installed in the case ofthe PC 210, 250, the chiller inlet fitting 816 is connected to thetubing indicated by reference numerals 224, 264 and the chiller outletfitting 818 is connected to tubing indicated by reference numerals 226,266.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, a buffer zone 1118 is provided between thefan 1114 and the finned assembly, indicated generally by referencenumeral 1120, that includes the chiller heat exchanger 814, thethermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822, the heat spreader plates 1020, 1022,and the aluminum extrusions 1012, 1014, 1016, 1018. The buffer zone 1118shown in FIG. 11 is much smaller than the buffer zone 918 shown in FIG.9 as both the fan 1114 and the finned assembly 1120 has approximatelythe same circular cross-sectional area so that little or no buffer zone1118 is needed to provide airflow to the finned assembly 1120. However,the buffer zone 1118 provides space for the tubing indicated byreference numerals 224, 264 and tubing indicated by reference numerals226, 266 to connect to the chiller heat exchanger 1024. Reduction in thesize of the buffer zone provides a more compact chiller.

The chiller heat exchanger 814, essentially a block through which afluid to be chilled can be circulated, is discussed in the detail belowin reference to FIG. 17. In the aluminum-finned chiller 1010, thechiller heat exchanger 814 is sandwiched between the two thermoelectricheat pumps 820, 822 so that a large proportion of its surface area isthermally coupled to the cold side of one or the other of thethermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822. The assembly of the chiller heatexchanger 814 and the thermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822 is in turnsandwiched between the two copper heat spreader plates 1020, 1022 sothat the hot sides of the thermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822 arethermally coupled to one or the other of the copper heat spreader plates1020, 1022. The four aluminum extrusions 1012, 1014, 1016, 1018 take theplace of the fins 828, 830, 832 of the copper-finned chiller 810, andare preferred because they may be extruded as units rather than joinedby soldering or brazing to the copper base plates 824, 826 as in thecase of the fins 828, 830, 832 of the copper-finned chiller 810 and areformed from less expensive material (aluminum, rather than copper).

Aluminum extrusions 1012, 1014, 1016, 1018 are actually all identical,being merely rotated about a horizontal or vertical plane. Therefore,FIG. 13, which is a cross-section through the aluminum extrusion 1012,illustrates all of them. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the aluminumextrusion 1012 comprises a base 1310 from which a plurality of fins 1312protrude.

In operation, the aluminum-finned chiller 1010 chills fluid that haspicked up heat from the microprocessor 214, 254 and is pumped throughthe chiller heat exchanger 814. The cold sides of the two thermoelectricheat pumps 820, 822 absorb heat from the chiller heat exchanger 814 andpump it to their respective hot sides. The copper heat spreader plates1020, 1022 in turn transfer that heat to the four aluminum extrusions1012, 1014, 1016, 1018. Air, forced between the fins 1312 by the fan1114 picks up heat from the fins 1312 and carries that heat out of thecase of the PC 210, 250.

FIGS. 14, 15, and 16 illustrate a variant, indicated generally byreference numeral 1011 of the aluminum-finned chiller 1010 of FIGS.10-13 in which the copper heat spreader plates 1020, 1022 are omittedand the four aluminum extrusions 1012, 1014, 1016, 1018 are replaced bytwo identical aluminum extrusions 1015 and 1017. FIG. 14 corresponds toFIG. 10, FIG. 15 to FIG. 11, and FIG. 16 to FIG. 13. The elevation viewof the aluminum-finned chiller 1010 provided in FIG. 12 is identical forthe variant 1011. Aluminum extrusion 1017 is shown in cross-section inFIG. 16. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the aluminum extrusion 1017comprises a base 1610 from which a plurality of fins 1612 protrude. Thebase 1610 is thicker than base 1310; the extra thickness replacing thecopper heat spreader plate 1020.

In operation, the variant aluminum-finned chiller 1011 chills fluid thathas picked up heat from the microprocessor 214, 254 and is pumpedthrough the chiller heat exchanger 814. The cold sides of the twothermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822 absorb heat from the chiller heatexchanger 814 and pump it to their respective hot sides. The hot sidesof the two thermoelectric heat pumps 820, 822 in turn transfer that heatto the two aluminum extrusions 1015, 1017. Air, forced between the fins1612 by the fan 1114 picks up heat from the fins 1612 and carries thatheat out of the case of the PC 210, 250.

If desired, a chiller such as for example any of those described withreference to any of FIGS. 8 to 16 may be used to accept heat input tothe thermoelectric heat pumps from sources other than a liquid heatexchanger, if desired. For example, rather than providing a liquid heatexchanger as the heat input surface, the cold side of a thermoelectriccooler may be in direct thermal communication with a heat generatingcomponent such as a microprocessor, transistor, phet, etc. or aconductive material such as a heat spreader plate positioned betweenheat generating component and the thermoelectric cooler or through otherfluid heat exchange components such as a heat pipe, wherein thecondenser portion thereof may be thermally coupled to the cold side ofthe thermoelectric cooler.

Likewise, if desired, a chiller such as for example any of thosedescribed with reference to any of FIGS. 8 to 16 may employ heatexchanging surfaces other than finned structures for use with air as theheat exchanging coolant. For example, heat exchanging surfaces, such asfinned structures or other forms, cooled by liquid coolants may be used,such as may be more commonly termed a fluid heat exchanger formed toaccept a flow of liquid. Examples of various fluid heat exchangers aredescribed throughout this application.

The chiller may be positioned inside the housing of a computer or otherelectronic or electric device as disclosed previously or may bepositioned externally as an alternative. For example, the chiller mayoperate internally or on an exposed surface of a computer or electric orelectronic device, as desired.

With reference to FIG. 16A, for example, a chiller 1711 may include aheat exchanging surface in the form of a finned structure 1712 thermallycoupled to a thermoelectric cooler 1722, which has a cold side 1722 athat is in turn is thermally coupled to a condenser portion 1714 a of aheat pipe 1714. The heat pipe may be in thermal communication with anelectronics heat source 1754 such as a microprocessor, a phet, atransistor, etc. of a computer or other electronic or electric device.As will be appreciated, a heat pipe operates by phase change of a heattransfer, working medium, arrows F, between the heat pipe's evaporatorportion 1714 b and condenser portion 1714 a. Heat pipes generallyinclude a closed envelope in which heat transfer working medium iscontained. The heat transfer is achieved by vaporization of the workingmedium at the evaporator portion by action of heat energy input andcondensation of the gaseous working medium at condenser portion 1714 a,which is cooler in this case due to its thermally conductive contactwith the cold side of thermoelectric cooler 1722 that permitsdissipation of the heat energy. A circuit is set up within a heat pipewherein condensed working medium moves from the condenser portion to theevaporator portion by gravity flow or wicking action.

As described herein, a chiller may be used to cool heat generatingcomponents on a electronic printed circuit board, which for example mayinclude a video card, a mother board, a sound card, a physics card orother purpose built cards. In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 16B to16D, a video card 2052 is shown for example which may be installed in anexpansion slot of a computer and a chiller 2011 is mounted thereon forcooling hot spots on the card. In the illustrated embodiment forexample, chiller 2011 is mounted to cool a microprocessor 2054, forexample a GPU, on the card's board 2056.

Card 2052 includes a spreader plate 2014 thermally coupled on a topsurface of, to accept heat energy from, the microprocessor 2054. Heatspreader plate 2014 includes a first surface 2014 a thermally coupled toan exposed surface 2054 a of the microprocessor and a second surface2014 b exposed for thermal communication to the chiller. The heatspreader plate may be formed of a conductive material such as copper oraluminum in order to conduct thermal energy from first surface 2014 a tosecond surface 2014 b. First surface 2014 a may be raised, as shown, orrecessed from the surrounding surface of the heat plate or may becoplanar therewith, as desired.

At least second surface 2014 b of the heat spreader plate has a surfacearea greater than the exposed surface of the microprocessor such thatheat from the microprocessor is distributed over a greater surface area.

Card 2052 also carries a plurality of thermoelectric coolers 2022 withtheir cold sides 2022 a each thermally coupled to heat spreader plate2014. When powered, the thermoelectric coolers conduct heat energy fromtheir cold sides 2022 a to their warm sides 2022 b to conduct heat awayfrom the heat spreader plate.

In the illustrated embodiment, three thermoelectric coolers are shown,but other numbers may be used as desired. The numbers of thermoelectriccoolers may be selected with consideration as to the heat energy whichis desired to be handled.

By combining unique design features, thermoelectric heat transfer may beused to efficiently cool electronic components. In one embodiment, it isdesired to spread the total heat transfer (Q) across one or more TECs toachieve a coefficient of performance (COP) of 2 or more. COP is theratio of power used to the heat moved: COP=Q1/W. This may be achieved bylimiting the input power for the thermoelectric coolers to below 40% ofthe rated Qmax.

Although a single thermoelectric cooler may be considered forinstallation on a card, a single thermoelectric cooler may not operatein a desireably efficient manner with respect to issues of thermaldensity and the ratio of power consumption against thermal transfer. Asingle thermoelectric cooler may have to be driven at such a highthermal transfer that it may induce condensation. Using a plurality ofthermoelectric coolers operated at input power below 40% of the ratedQmax, such as at 25 to 125 watts, for example of 40 to 100 watts orpossibly 40 to 60 watts, permits reasonably efficient heat dissipationfrom components with very high thermal density with reasonable powerinput and few concerns regarding condensation.

Additional advantages of this technology combined with multiple TECs isthe increased surface area to dissipate the heat from the hot side ofthe TEC. The total heat dissipation can be done more easily with a heatexchanger.

The warm sides of the thermoelectric coolers 2022 are then thermallycoupled to a heat exchange surface, which may include air-cooled fins, aheat pipe, etc., but in this embodiment includes a fluid heat exchanger2023 formed to include a heat spreader bottom surface in thermalcommunication with heat exchanging ribs 2023 a, which extend into aliquid tight inner chamber 2023 b. Heat exchanging liquid passes throughbarbs 2016, 2018 and passes through chamber 2023 b to accept heat energyfrom the ribs.

The heat spreader plate fluid 2014, thermoelectric coolers 2022 and heatexchanger 2023 may be secured to card 2054 by clamps 2056 and fasteners2058 or other means as desired.

In some embodiments, further heat dissipating devices may be used withcard 2052 such as a finned heat exchanger 2059 that operates todissipate heat from other components on the card via air flow throughfins 2059 a.

Another embodiment of a chiller 2111 is shown in FIGS. 16E and 16F. Inthat illustrated embodiment, chiller 2111 is included as part of alaptop cooling device 2157 operable to assist with the cooling of alaptop 2159 if one is placed thereon. Laptop cooling device 2157 mayinclude a support plate 2161 including a top surface 2161 a and a lowersurface 2161 b. The top surface is formed to support a laptop thereonand at least a portion thereof is selected to act as a heat sink. Thus,for example at least a portion of the top surface may include a heatconductive material 2163 capable of absorbing heat energy from a laptopand from air passing over the surface, as will be appreciated by thefurther description hereinbelow. Top surface 2161 a may include aplurality of small surface undulations 2165 for example in the form ofribs, protrusions, bumps, etc. The surface undulations increase thesurface area of the heat conductive material on the top surface and mayalso create turbulence in, and thereby increase residence time of, airflowing between the lap top and the top surface.

Heat conductive material 2163 of the top surface extends to the lowersurface and is thermally coupled to the cold side of at least one, andin the illustrated embodiment two, thermoelectric coolers 2122 mountedon lower surface 2161 b. The heat conductive material 2163 on lowersurface creates a form of heat spreader plate to conduct heat energyinto contact with the thermoelectric coolers.

A heat exchanging surface, such as a finned structure 2112, a fluid heatexchanger or heat pipe is thermally coupled to the warm side of thethermoelectric coolers to accept and dissipate the heat conducted awayfrom the top surface. In the illustrated embodiment, the heat exchangingsurface includes a finned structure through which cooling air may flow.In one embodiment, a fan 2114 is mounted to move (push or draw) airthrough the finned structure.

In operation, the laptop cooling device may support a laptop, with theunderside of the laptop overlying top surface 2161 a of the supportplate. Many laptops include cooling systems that draw air in through airvents opened on or adjacent the underside of the laptop. The undersideof the laptop also tends to be an area of the laptop that becomes warmduring operation. As such, the laptop cooling device may operate in twoways. First, heat conductive material 2163 may act as a heat sink forheat emitted from the laptop underside and also, heat conductivematerial, which remains in a cooled state from operation of thethermoelectric cooler may also act to cool air passing between thelaptop and top surface 2161 a toward the laptop vents.

Heat energy drawn from the top surface by thermoelectric cooler may bedissipated through chiller 2111 and fan 2114.

Although not shown, the lap top cooling device may include a housingextending about various components thereof. For example, a housing mayextend about chiller and fan, which may include vents for passagetherethrough of air. A housing may also or alternately extend about theedges of top surface 2161 a.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, the structure of the chiller heat exchanger814 is, in general, similar to that of the horizontal heat exchanger 258described above in relation to FIGS. 5A and 5B; the primary differencesbeing that no protrusion 356 is provided and there are 20 chambers.Chiller heat exchanger 814 comprises a central block 1410 bored throughby 20 bores that are laterally connected in the manner shown in FIG. 17to form a passage from the chiller inlet fitting 816 to the chilleroutlet fitting 818. An end cap 1412, 1414 covers each face of thecentral block 1410. A passage is provided for the circulation of a fluidthat is comprised of a series of cylindrical chambers, tworepresentative ones of which are referred to by reference numerals 1416and 1418, connected by constrictions, a representative one of which isreferred to by reference numeral 1420.

In FIG. 17 fluid entering the chiller heat exchanger 814 through thechiller inlet fitting 816 passes through the 20 chambers before leavingthrough the chiller outlet fitting 818. Each pair of successive chambersis connected by a constriction. For example, in FIG. 17 the constriction1420 connects the pair of chambers 1416 and 1418. The chambers passcompletely through the central block 1410 and may be formed by boringthrough a solid copper block, although casting or other methods may beused depending upon the material used. The constrictions, such asconstriction 1420 also pass completely through the central block 1410,so that each of the chambers connected by the constriction has anopening in its interior wall passing into the constriction having aboundary defined by two lines along the interior wall of the chamberthat run parallel to the axis of the chamber that are connected bysegments of the edges of the circular ends of the chamber. The area ofthe opening should preferably by approximately equal to thecross-section area of the chiller inlet fitting 816 and the chilleroutlet fitting 818.

While the chambers shown in FIG. 17 are shown so that the axes of mostof the successive pairs of chambers are spaced apart by slightly lessthan the diameter of one chamber so that most of the constrictionsbetween successive chambers are formed by the overlapping of thechambers, it is also within the scope of the invention to space the axesof successive chambers farther apart, as shown in FIG. 5B. One methodfor forming such chambers and constrictions is to bore a block ofmaterial so that the center of each bore is closer to the nextsuccessive bore than the diameter of the bore.

While twenty chambers are shown in FIG. 17, more or fewer chambers couldbe used and are within the scope of this invention.

As in the case of the one-piece fluid heater exchanger 610 shown inFIGS. 6A-6C, the inventor has found that the one-piece chiller heatexchanger indicated generally by reference numeral 1810 in FIGS. 18A-18Cis less costly to manufacture than the chiller heat exchanger 814 shownin FIG. 17 and described above and may be used in place of heatexchanger 814 in many applications. However, the same design principlesapply. The heat exchanger 1810 shown in FIGS. 6A-6C is die cast in onepiece from an aluminum alloy such as 1106 alloy or 6101 alloy usingprocesses that are known to those skilled in the art. That process isnot within the scope of the invention, although the arrangement andshapes of the internal passages are within the scope of the invention.The heat exchanger 1810 shown in FIGS. 18A-18C might also be formed bymolding heat conducting plastic material.

The heat exchanger 1810 shown in FIGS. 18A, 18B, and 18C comprises abody 1812, an inlet barb 1816, and an outlet barb 1818, all of which aredie cast as a single unitary structure. Inside the body 1812 a passage1820 shown in FIG. 18C connects the opening in the inlet barb 1816 tothe opening in the outlet barb 1818. The passage 1820 comprises a seriesof sixteen spherical chambers connected by fifteen cylindricalconstrictions. More or fewer chambers could be used and are within thescope of this invention. FIGS. 18D-18J provide a set of cross-sectionsshowing the shapes and relative diameters of the spherical chambers andcylindrical constrictions. The transitions between the sphericalchambers and constrictions are smooth.

The inventor has found it advantageous to use the molded retainer shownin FIGS. 19A, 19B, and 19C for coupling the fluid heat exchanger 218,258, 612 to a microprocessor. The molded retainer, generally indicatedby reference numeral 1910, may be used instead of the plastic bar 322and spring clips 324 in FIG. 3A and the plastic bar 362 and spring clips364 shown in FIG. 3B. The molded retainer 1910 comprises a plate 1912 ofplastic material having a front hook 1914 and a rear hook 1916 thatextend perpendicularly from the plate 1912 and perform the same functionas the spring clips 324, 364. Portions of the hooks 1914, 1916 near theends that do not hook to the socket 216, 256 are embedded in the plate1912 rather than fastened to the edges of the plate 1912 by screws as isthe case in the plastic bar 322, 362 and spring clips 324, 364 shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B. Further, the ends of the hooks 1914 and 1916 that donot hook to the socket 216, 256 are bent back after they emerge from theplate 1912 and extend perpendicularly from the plate 1912 to form sidebrackets 1918. The side brackets 1918 extend far enough to restrain thebody of the fluid heat exchanger from twisting. Two further sidebrackets 1920 each having a end molded into the plate 1912 are providedso that the body of the fluid heat exchanger is surrounded on all foursides by brackets 1918, 1920. The hooks 1914, 1918 and brackets 1918,1920 are preferably made from 26 gauge sheet steel. As in the case ofthe plastic bar 322, 362, the plate 1912 is provided with an opening1922 that is threaded to accept a bolt (not shown) that may be the sameas the bolt shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The opening 1922 is located sothat the bolt is aligned with the center of the die 210, 250 when theretainer is installed in place of the plastic bar 322, 362 shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B. The plastic used to form the plate 1912 may be acrylic,although other plastics or other material may be used. The material usedand its thickness should be selected so that the plate 1912 will breakif the bolt is over-tightened.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be usedto cool electronic components such as graphics processors as well asmicroprocessors by adding additional fluid heat exchanger modules eitherin series or in parallel with the fluid heat exchanger used to cool themicroprocessor. Similarly, multiprocessor computers can be cooled usingmultiple fluid heat exchangers.

Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and,therefore, the invention is defined in the claims.

1. A chiller for cooling an electronic device, comprising: athermoelectric cooler having a cool face and a warm face when connectedto a power source; a heat spreader plate; and a heat exchanging surface,said thermoelectric cooler, said heat spreader plate and said heatexchanging surface all thermally coupled to dissipate heat energy from aheat input surface to said heat exchanging surface.
 2. The chiller asdefined in claim 1, wherein the cool face of the thermoelectric cooleris thermally coupled to the heat input surface.
 3. The chiller asdefined in claim 1 wherein the heat spreader plate includes a first faceand the first face is thermally coupled to said warm face of thethermoelectric cooler.
 4. The chiller as defined in claim 1 wherein theheat spreader plate is thermally coupled between the heat input surfaceand the thermoelectric cooler.
 5. The chiller as defined in claim 1,wherein the heat exchanging surface is thermally coupled to the heatspreader plate and the heat exchanging surface includes a plurality ofspaced-apart heat conductive fins, each of which extends away from theheat spreader plate opposite to said heat spreader plate.
 6. The chilleras defined in claim 1, wherein the heat exchanging surface is a portionof a fluid heat exchanger.
 7. The chiller as defined in claim 6, whereinthe fluid heat exchanger is capable of containing a flow of liquidcoolant.
 8. The chiller as defined in claim 1, further comprising asystem for passing cooling fluid past the heat exchanging surface. 9.The chiller as defined in claim 1, wherein the system for passingcooling fluid includes a pump.
 10. The chiller as defined in claim 1,wherein the heat input surface is part of a fluid heat exchanger throughwhich a fluid may be circulated.
 11. The chiller as defined in claim 1,wherein the heat input surface is a portion of a heat pipe.
 12. Thechiller as defined in claim 1, wherein the heat input surface is aportion of the electronic device.
 13. The chiller as defined in claim 1,wherein said electronic device is a microprocessor comprising a diemounted in a package and the said hot portion is an exposed surface ofthe die.
 14. The chiller as defined in claim 13, wherein a first face ofthe heat spreader plate defines a primary plane and the plurality ofspaced-apart heat-conductive fins are positioned such that air can movethrough the plurality of spaced-apart heat-conductive fins and in adirection substantially parallel to said primary plane.
 15. The chilleras defined in claim 14 wherein the fluid heat exchanger is formed as athick plate and is positioned in a plane parallel to the primary plane.16. The chiller as defined in claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric cooleris positioned in the chiller such that air can pass thereover when theair moves through the chiller.
 17. The chiller as defined in claim 5,further comprising a fan oriented to move air between said fins.
 18. Thechiller as defined in claim 1 positioned in a case for the electronicdevice, the case including an opening therethrough for access betweenits inner and outer surfaces and the chiller is positioned within thecase open to the opening.
 19. The chiller as defined in claim 5, whereinthe plurality of spaced-apart fins are together formed as a unitarystructure.
 20. The chiller as defined in claim 5, wherein the heatspreader plate and the plurality of spaced-apart fins are joinedtogether as a unitary structure.
 21. The chiller as defined in claim 1,further comprising a second thermoelectric cooler having a cool face anda warm face when connected to a power source, the second thermoelectriccooler also sandwiched between the heat input surface and the heatspreader plate so that the cool face of the second thermoelectric cooleris thermally coupled to the heat input surface and its warm face isthermally coupled to the heat spreader plate.
 22. The chiller as definedin claim 1 positioned in a case for the electronic device, the caseincluding an opening therethrough for access between its inner and outersurface and the chiller is positioned adjacent the opening within thecase.
 23. The chiller as defined in claim 1 mounted on a printed circuitboard.
 24. The chiller as defined in claim 23 wherein the heatexchanging surface includes a portion of a liquid heat exchanger. 25.The chiller as defined in claim 1 mounted on a laptop cooling device.26. A printed circuit board comprising: a board; a heat generatingcomponent on the board; a heat spreader plate, a first face of which isthermally coupled to the heat generating component; a thermoelectriccooler having a cool face and a warm face when connected to a powersource, the thermoelectric cooler mounted with its cool face thermallycoupled to the heat spreader plate; and a liquid heat exchangerthermally coupled to the warm face of the thermoelectric cooler.
 27. Theprinted circuit board of claim 26 further comprising at least oneadditional thermoelectric cooler mounted with its cool face thermallycoupled to the heat spreader plate and its warm face thermally coupledto the liquid heat exchanger.
 28. The printed circuit board of claim 26further comprising a second heat spreader plate mounted on the board todissipate heat from a second heat generated component on the board. 29.The printed circuit board of claim 26 wherein the thermoelectric coolerhas a power rating of between 25 and 125 watts.
 30. The printed circuitboard of claim 26 including pins for mounting in an expansion slot of acomputer.
 31. The printed circuit board of claim 26 wherein the heatgenerating device is the CPU of a video card.
 32. A laptop coolingdevice comprising: a support plate including a top surface formed tosupport a laptop thereon, a lower surface, and at least a portion formedto act as a heat sink in a position exposed on top surface and extendingto the lower surface; a thermoelectric cooler having a cool face and awarm face when connected to a power source, the thermoelectric coolermounted with its cool face thermally coupled to the at least a portionformed to act as a heat sink; and a heat exchanging surface thermallycoupled to the warm face of the thermoelectric cooler.
 33. The laptopcooling device of claim 32 wherein the at least a portion formed to actas a heat sink includes a heat conductive material.
 34. The laptopcooling device of claim 32 wherein the top surface includes a pluralityof surface undulations.
 35. The laptop cooling device of claim 32wherein the support plate acts is formed of a heat conductive material.36. The laptop cooling device of claim 32 wherein heat exchangingsurface includes a finned structure.
 37. The laptop cooling device ofclaim 32 wherein the heat exchanging surface includes an open finnedstructure through which air may flow.
 38. The laptop cooling device ofclaim 32 further comprising a fan to move air past the heat exchangingsurface.